The Beautiful Beasts
by Seraphdragon7
Summary: After their marriage, belle and her prince have two special children together who grow up to find love of their own. However, their children discover their loves turn out to be not human, they are creatures of magic and mystery from different races.
1. Chapter 1: The Wedding Interupted

_The Beautiful Beasts _

_Chapter 1: The Wedding Interrupted _

_Belle Mechanicalle stood admiring her reflection in the full length mirror on a stand in her dressing room. It was her wedding day and she was dressed in a beautiful white silk and lace wedding dress. The bride's dress had short, puffed sleeves with a little lace ruffle at the end. The sweetheart neckline had two pink satin roses on the sides, was trimmed in seed pearls and had an oval aquamarine gemstone with a row of diamonds surrounding it and tear drop pearl dangling down from it onto the lace bodice. The bodice of course was made from lace with a pattern of roses, lilies and butterflies. The waistline had more seed pearls and another aquamarine and diamond jewel, the bell-shaped skirt was white silk with a scalloped design of three separate pink satin roses holding up a layer of ruffled lace. Below it was more tiers of ruffled lace that reached the floor. Her white kidskin slippers had seed pearls, and aquamarines surrounded by diamonds on them. Belle wore long white gloves and for her veil, she had a garland of pink roses on her head with a hair comb of silver with diamonds and an aquamarine in the center in her bun and gauzy layers of white chiffon falling over her hair and down her back for her veil. Belle wore aquamarine, diamond, and pearl earrings to match the ones on her gown. She carried a bouquet of fresh roses in every color, red, white, pink, yellow, peach, and lavender, with green maidenhair fern leaves, and baby's breath. _

_Mrs. Eliza Potts, the housekeeper of her prince's castle, stood behind her. She had helped Belle get dressed and fixed her hair and make-up. "You look gorgeous, my dear." She said. "Oh what a happy day this is! The spell on the master and the castle has been broken and we are all human again. Better yet, our prince has learned to love. You two will have a wonderful future together, I'm sure, making each other happy and raising your children." _

"_I'm not so sure I want to think about having children so soon. I'd like to spend some time with my prince together just the two of us before we have babies. Belle replied. _

"_Oh, well, you'll have plenty of time to live your life together. And I'm sure eventually you will have children. Why my little ones a__re a joy and a blessing to me. Of course they try my patience and my temper now and then, when they are occasionally naughty." _

_Mrs. Potts was dressed in a yellow silk matron of honor dress, decorated with white lace ruffles and pink satin bows and ribbons. Belle's flower girl, Claire, the village baker's daughter, came into the room wearing her cream silk and lace flower girl dress with a garland of white roses on her head. She carried a white wicker basket of rose petals in many colors. _

"_Mademoiselle, it's time!" Claire said. Belle's father Maurice Mechanicalle entered the room in his best formal garb, a pale gray broadcloth suit with matching breeches and black shoes with gold buckles. _

"_Belle, mon Cherie, I'm so happy for my one and only girl on her wedding day! You look beautiful, like the perfect princess bride. Oh, but I will miss you, what will I do without you, my little Belle?" _

"_Oh Papa, Prince Armand says you can live in the castle with us, but if you don't want to, you are welcome to visit any time. And of course we will come to visit you at the cottage near the village any time you want to see us." Belle set her bouquet on the vanity table and fell into her father's arms, giving him a big hug._

"_I love you so much, my sweet, clever Belle. I feel like I'm losing my only daughter. But how wonderful things turned out. Who would have thought that savage beast was a prince under an enchantment?"_

"_He just needed to be loved, Papa. Armand forgot how to be human. He needed someone to remind him of who he really was, and what he could be if he had some hope." _

"_Hope, faith, and love…..what we all need." Maurice mused. _

"_Well, I don't want you to be late for your own wedding, Belle. Your prince is waiting. I'm sure you and Armand will be very happy together." _

_Belle gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek. Then the music began to play. She picked up her bouquet of roses. Claire the flower girl went down the aisle first, scattering rose petals down the plush red carpet covering the aisle of the castle's chapel. The chapel had been decorated for the wedding with garlands of pink, white and red roses, yellow and pink ribbons, and a bridal altar of white wicker work with pink and red roses woven in between the curls and a yellow lace canopy at the top. The bride and groom stood underneath the altar during the ceremony to take their wedding vows. There was a cage of white doves to be released at the end of the wedding. _

_The pews in the chapel were filled with wedding guests from near and far. The servants of the castle, who had been turned into animated furniture while Armand was a beast, under a spell a fairy had put on him for his selfishness and lack of hospitality, were in the wedding. Prince Armand had two best men since he didn't want his friends Lumiere and Cogsworth to fight over the position. The other men servants in the castle were the ushers. Mrs. Potts' young son Chip was the ring bearer boy. The castle seamstress Sophie, who had been a wardrobe during the castle's enchantment, the chef's wife and assistant chef, Paulette, the maid Babette who had been a feather duster, and Angelique, who had been an angel Christmas ornament, were her bride's maids. Mrs. Potts was her matron of honor. _

_Maurice walked his daughter and only child down the chapel aisle strewn with rose petals. She held on to his arm and walked gracefully and stately to her beloved groom. Maurice felt his eyes growing misty. This was an occasion for great joy and celebration. He knew that his beautiful Belle would attract many men, and one day she would find the man who attracted her and she would want to get married. He began to remember his own wedding to Belle's mother, and that brought up other memories, of everything he did wrong that caused her to leave him and their daughter. Belle reached her darling love Armand's side. The groom was dressed in a sky blue frock coat trimmed in gold buttons and braid with beige pants and black and gold boots. She took Armand's hand and he bowed slightly to Maurice, who returned the bow. All of them were smiling broadly. Armand brought her white gloved hand to his lips and kissed it. The village priest, Father David, began the ceremony. _

"_Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together on this lovely spring day to celebrate a most joyous occasion, the wedding of Prince Armand of Vanier, third cousin to our glorious king, and of Belle Mechanicalle of Pasture. Matrimony is a holy estate ordained by God in which a man and a woman are joined together to become one flesh. It is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and in the fear of God. If anyone here can show just cause as to why these two may not lawfully be joined together, let him or her object now or forever hold their peace." _

"_I object!" Shouted a voice coming from the back of the pews. A rough burly red-headed man stood up. Three triplets, identical young blonde women that were very pretty and shapely, stood up with him. He was a farmer who had been Gaston the hunter's friend and had participated in the villager's raid on Armand's castle when he was still a beast. Gaston was an excellent hunter, a vain, proud, arrogant conceited man. He fancied Belle for his wife, but his motivations were all selfish, he did not know how to truly love her since love required giving up of the self to make someone else happy. He tried to black mail Belle into marrying him by claiming her father Maurice was crazy and having him put in an insane asylum. If Belle would agree to marry him, then Maurice would be declared sane and free, but if she did not, then he would be locked up. When Armand the beast released Belle to tend to her father, she returned to the village with a magic mirror that showed you whatever you wanted to see. At first the villagers did not believe Belle when she told them about the beast in the castle, then she showed them in the magic mirror. Then they were very frightened. She tried to explain to them what he was really like, kind and gentle, but they would not listen, the mothers were scared for their children and wanted their men folk to hunt down this dangerous and deadly beast and kill it. Gaston was jealous and excited at the thought of hunting a beast as rare as this. The villagers locked Maurice and Belle in a wagon and then went off to the beast's castle to hunt him down and kill him. _

_However little Chip, who was a teacup with a tiny chip in it at the time, snuck out of the castle with Belle and avoided being locked up with her. He had Belle's horse Philippe with him and together they started one of Maurice's inventions, (he was an inventor) it was a wood chopping machine, and they got it to chop down the door to the wagon they were imprisoned in. Belle rushed back to the castle on Philippe and the furniture servants were doing their best to fight off the invading attacking villagers. Gaston managed to sneak through the castle rooms with his bow and arrows searching for the beast till he found him, in despair over his beloved Belle's departure in one of the tallest towers. Armand didn't have the heart to fight back because he was so sad over losing Belle and thought he had lost her forever. Gaston shot him, mocking him all the while. Then they saw Belle. In a struggle out the window on the castle's roof Beast managed to knock Gaston off the roof. At first the beast offered the hunter mercy, but then Gaston stabbed him with his hunting knife so Beast hurled him from the roof. _

_Belle wept over her dear beast and realized how much she loved him as he lay mortally wounded and bleeding in her arms as the rain from the thunderstorm soaked them both. She kissed him and said "I love you" to him for the first time. With her love, she broke the spell the fairy enchantress had cast that bound him in the form of a beast. He had learned how to love, and to win another human being's love, and when his sweetheart declared truly from the depths of her soul that she loved him with all her heart, he became human again, for his beastly nature had been transformed into how a true man was suppose to be. Now they would be married, a blessed union of souls. _

_But Gaston had been a popular man in the tavern of the village. The friends of Gaston were angry, and sought vengeance for his death. The fact that the beast turned out to be a prince added jealousy and envy to their anger. In their eyes Armand was a murderer. Never mind the fact that it was self-defense, and Gaston's own fault, and never mind their own crimes of trespassing and viciously attacking the castle and all the living furniture and household objects who were the servants. _

_The Devil, that master of evil was like a roaring beast himself seeking to devour anyone who listened to his poisonous serpent whispering lies, the temptation and thoughts he put into human heads to tempt them toward evil. The dark side of humanity, humanity's beast-like nature, has been around since Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that is why there is so much injustice, pain suffering, corruption and evil in human society. The village peasant men were ignorant hicks who drink too much after the work in their fields was finished and liked to get rowdy, often making their wives or girlfriends annoyed with them. _

_The red-headed man's name was Russell. He started on Armand, "You murderer! You killed Gaston! And you are involved in witchcraft." Then he turned on Belle, "I know you for what you are, you little witch! You used your sorcery on him to make the beast look like a man. He is your demonic lover. You both are an abomination, damned to hell!" _

_The blonde triplets began to speak too. "Gaston would have been ours had he lived." Marie, the eldest said. "I never understood why he was so in love with you when you never gave him the time of day." said Yvette. "Now I understand. You're a witch and you put a charm over him to make him fall for you, but then you repeatedly ignored him and strung him along, reading those spell books of yours till you could run away and find the beast's castle and make the beast your lover. Then you had your beastly lover kill poor Gaston." She continued._

"_Her father was always weird, making those creepy strange inventions." said Isabelle, the youngest triplet. "He must be a sorcerer too, and his inventions are evil, possessed by evil spirits. No wonder they rarely work properly." _

"_Father David, you can't let this wedding continue, it is a union between a witch and a demonic shape shifting beast who is a murderer and could be a warlock, they are evildoers and have already killed one innocent man and injured several others. If they are wed they will breed a race of foul demonic children with powers of black magic who will take over our fair country." Russell declared to the priest and everyone present at the wedding. _


	2. Chapter 2 The Wedding Continued

The Beautiful Beasts

Chapter 2:

Lumiere, Cogsworth, Henri the chef and the other men servants were ready to throw the instigators out of the wedding and the castle upon Armand's orders, but it was Belle who spoke up first. Along with her groom she was very angry that these yahoos had ruined her wedding.

"How dare you." Belle said, her voice low, tight and restrained with anger.

The local yokels who had barged in on her wedding did not know how to react.

"How dare you do this to me and my future husband, he will be my husband, my family, my friends, everyone I know and love that I have invited to my wedding. You come here uninvited and accuse me and my prince of witchcraft and murder. Just as you came uninvited that night when the Gaston roused the villagers with his lies to attack the castle, try to burn it down and kill the beast, who had done nothing wrong except look like a beast! Gaston was the real beast, and he got what he deserved. You are beasts! It has nothing to do with physical appearance, with a hairy hide or fangs or claws, it is the heart, soul and mind that matter. I have no magic powers, I am not a witch, if I were I would turn the four of you into toads, which is what you deserve for interrupting my wedding with such wild accusations. It was the power of love that released Armand from the fairy's spell. I love him with all my heart, when people are in love and they want to spend the rest of their lives together they get married. You are married Russell, it's no secret that you and your wife Colette don't get along well together. Maybe if you would be nicer to her, treat her wife respect instead of as if she is just your cook and maid and love her like you did when you first married her things would go better for you and your wife.

How am I suppose to be an evil witch with black magic for breaking a fairy's spell which turned Armand into a beast? How does it make him evil? Do you think the fairy who put the spell on him in the first place was evil? NO! She only wanted to teach Armand a lesson, for he was selfish, vain and spoiled back then. Perhaps I was spoiled and sheltered before I met Armand too. My experience changed me, toughened me, enlightened me, it taught me to love and forgive and do not judge by first impressions. That is what we all need to learn. Do not be so foolishly superstitious out of fear and ignorance. You are afraid because you do not understand, the fear makes you hate as well. Love was what set us free. Leave off these foolish ideas of revenge and grudges. Choose to love and forgive; I can forgive you for this and for the attack on the castle that night, so now please forgive us for Gaston's accidental death."

There was a long moment of silence so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The importance of Belle's speech hung in the air.

Finally, Russell, mumbled, "I, er, well, I……maybe she's not a witch after all." He sat down. The triplets also sat down, but did not offer any word of apology. These young women were the town beauties and had been madly in love with Gaston and was determined that he would marry one of the three sisters.

"I will continue with the wedding now." Father David said quietly.

"Prince Armand, repeat your vows after me."

Armand repeated the vows that the priest gave him. They were traditional wedding vows.

"I, Prince Armand of Vanier take thee Belle Mechanicalle of Pasture to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness, and in health, to love and to cherish till death us do part. I do."

Then Belle took her vows. "I, Belle Mechanicalle of Pasture take thee Prince Armand of Vanier to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part. I do."

"Now for the rings." Chip came forward with the golden wedding bands attached to the white satin heart-shaped pillow with pink ribbons. Father David took the pillow with the rings and untied the first one and gave it to Armand.

Armand took Belle's left hand and placed the gold wedding ring on her fourth finger, the ring finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed, with this gold I thee honor, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

Belle did the same thing with the other wedding ring, she put it on Armand's fourth finger of the left hand and repeated the same vow.

Then Father David declared, "In the presence of God and these witnesses, I now pronounce you man and wife in the name of God the Father, the Son and the holy Ghost. Amen. Therefore, what god hath joined together, let not man put asunder. You may kiss the bride."

Armand took Belle into his arms and kissed her passionately on her rosy red lips, she kissed him back, their lips stayed locked together for nearly a minute. Finally they came up for air, with the loud cheering of their friends and neighbors making music in their ears.

Father David read a final blessing over the just-married couple.

"The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen."

The wedding guests lined up outside, ready to toss rice onto the bride and groom. Belle and Armand left the chapel hand in hand, and ducked as their friends threw grains of rice on them as they passed.

Now it was time for the wedding reception, the party after the wedding ceremony. The castle chef, Henri, had cooked up a magnificent feast. The wedding cake was huge, it was a marble cake of both chocolate and vanilla, with white butter cream icing, pink roses, yellow ribbons and bows, and white doves. At the top were carved wooden figures of the bride and groom, under a lattice archway with two tiny bells and artificial pink roses. Besides the cake there were bite-size chocolate éclairs, cups of custard, raspberry bear claw pastries, honey-roasted nuts, baked apples, a cheese platter with a great selection of the finest and most delicious French cheeses, different loaves of delicious fresh baked bread, a fruit tray, salads, French onion soup, vegetable soup, escargot, (snails), shrimp, lobster pieces, cordon bleu chicken, hors d'oeuvres of roast beef and lamb, and then there was the final meal with the roast beef and lamb and asparagus, artichoke hearts, seasoned garlic potatoes and truffles (expensive mushrooms.)


	3. Chapter 3: Suprise Wedding guest

The Beautiful Beasts

Surprise Guest at the Wedding Party

Prince Armand raised his crystal goblet for a toast. "Thank you everyone for coming to my wedding. This is the happiest day of my life, to be united forever to my best friend and dearest love, my sweet bookish Belle. I would like to thank my friends Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Pots, our Chef Henri, our seamstress Sophie, our chamber maid Babette, and the youngest member of our castle staff, Chip. I uh, had a great speech prepared, but my footstool ate the paper." The wedding guests and servants laughed.

"Ten years ago a fairy enchantress cast a spell upon me and my castle, I was turned into a hideous hairy beast and the staff in my castle into animated furniture. The spell could only be broken by true love. At first, I was in despair, my heart was broken, I hated myself, for I who had once been so handsome, had become a monster. I was lost in darkness. Then Belle came into my world and brought the light. She taught me that I was only a beast if I acted like one. She opened my heart and showed me the true meaning of beauty, that cannot be seen or heard or touched but only felt in the heart.

Thanks to her kindness and caring, I opened my heart and was not afraid to love again. I loved her so much I let her go, and she came back to me. Just when I thought all hope was lost, she said those three magical words, "I love you", and the spell was broken. Belle taught me to care for someone else more than I cared for myself, to put her needs over mine and think of her first.

I know she feels the same for me.

Our love is blessed by God, since we both put Him first above each other. The Lord save my soul and life and delivered me from being trapped in the form of a beast. I am eternally grateful to my savior and my dear sweet bride."

The guests cheered. Everyone swallowed some of the wine. Then the best men, there were two of them, Cogsworth and Lumierre, both gave toasts. Belle gave a toast, so did her father and Mrs. Pots. After that everyone settled down and began to eat the delicious feast prepared for them. Then it was time for the cutting of the cake. Armand and Belle cut the cake together, Belle's hand over Armand's larger one on the silver handle of the knife as they sliced the fancy marbled cake with whipped white butter cream frosting. They giggled and laughed as they fed each other cake, making a bit of a mess and wiping each other's mouths with large square ivory linen napkins. Then the newlyweds kissed, tasting the sweet cake and sugary creamy frosting on each other's lips.

The cake was served to the guests. Then it was time for the dancing. Since it was such a lovely spring day the bride and groom decided to dance in the garden and their guests followed them.

Belle and Armand took off in each other's arms, gracefully gliding and whirling around, lost in their love and the beauty around them as they looked into each other's eyes and thought how wonderful their future together would be.

Maurice was looking for a partner when he spotted a woman in the crowd who was not invited, yet very familiar. He gasped. "Could it be her? After all these years, could she have returned?"

The woman was petite, with a lovely peaches-and-cream complexion, her brown hair was in a bun hidden beneath a nice straw hat with yellow roses. Her large eyes were hazel, with long thick silky black eyelashes. She wore a tan satin dress with long sleeves trimmed in cream lace and yellow roses. She tried to remain inconspicuous, blending with the crowd of wedding guests.

Maurice followed her and when she turned around near a red rose bush she saw him and her eyes lit up with recognition, remembered affection from the past, guilt, and some shame and embarrassment.

"It is you! Roxanne, where have you been all these years? Why did you run away and leave me to raise our daughter by my self?"

Tears began to fill the woman's lovely large hazel eyes, so much like Belle's. "Maurice, I…..I don't know what to say,……I am so sorry….." Maurice came up to her and took her hand as if he wanted to dance.

"I've missed you so much Roxanne. Did you go to Paris and study ballet like you've always wanted?"

"Oui, Maurice. Have you not heard? My name now is Madame Roxanne Debonaire, I am called the Yellow Rose of Paris, a prima ballerina. I had much success dancing on the stage in Paris and in other great cities throughout Europe, but my heart aches for this little town where I grew up, and for you, and for our little girl. I regret now that I left you, but I fear I would have wasted away had I stayed in that little cottage having to deal with you always tinkering and pounding around with your inventions, and Belle crying when she was a baby, I stayed as long as I could stand it, till Belle was four, and then I knew I had to leave."

"If I'd of known how frustrated you were I could have done something to help…." Maurice mused. "You didn't have to leave us. We could have taken a vacation. I could have gotten one of your friends in the village to baby sit Belle while we took a romantic vacation in Paris…."

"Forget about it Maurice, it is in the past. It is my fault, I should not have married you knowing I would not make a good wife and mother. I was born to dance ballet, knowing that I should not have tried to fool myself into thinking I could be someone I'm not, I loved you so much I tried to change myself into the perfect housewife for you, but I could not keep pretending forever, I must dance, If I could I would have taught Belle to dance ballet but she seemed to have little interest in it. I hope you can forgive me for abandoning you and our daughter, and I hope Belle will forgive me too. I came to her wedding to be reconciled with my family. I have not been sleeping well lately, as I get older I realize the things that are really important, not riches or fame but love, your family and friends, your hope and faith in the next world. I wanted to have my family back and I need your forgiveness. If you do not forgive me I will understand, it will make me sad but I can only ask and not demand."

"You have hurt me a lot, Roxanne, but I forgave you years ago." Maurice said to his estranged wife. "The person you really need to apologize to is Belle. I am so proud of her. Her love and kindness brought out the man from the beast. Let me introduce you to her, and her new husband." He took Roxanne by the hand to take her to Belle and Armand.

"But Maurice, what if she hates me for abandoning her?" Roxanne was still nervous and frightened about meeting the daughter she left years ago to pursue her dreams of ballet stardom. She dreaded the final confrontation. How would Belle react to seeing the mother she considered dead?


	4. Chapter 4: Reunion with mother

The Beautiful Beasts.

Belle danced with Armand for half an hour, then she began to tire and Armand brought her a glass of champagne. She sat down at a table and chairs set up in the garden. Maurice came over to her, with a lady she did not know leaning on his arm.

"Belle, I am so glad you are having a good time. Remember every detail of your wedding, because you probably will only have one wedding in a lifetime, at least that is the way God designed it to be. Well some people get married twice in a lifetime, or maybe even three times, in case their spouse dies and they meet somebody else they love with all their heart. Divorce is an abomination, a terrible sin and shameful crime against love and God.

There is someone I want you to meet. I don't know if you remember her or not. This is Madame Roxanne Debonair, the Yellow Rose of Paris."

Belle found herself face to face with a woman who looked like an older version of herself. Roxanne's elegant dress and graceful dancer's posture could not hide her nervousness and her eyes revealed her emotions, she wanted so much to embrace Belle, but had to face that fact that she was a grown married woman and not a little girl, she had completely missed out on any chance to watch her daughter grow up.

"Roxanne was my mother's name….." Belle pondered. She was a bit shocked by how much the elder lady looked like her. She had a portrait of her mother she kept in her bedroom, this woman was the same as the one in the portrait, with a bit of age.

"Papa, I thought my mother was dead." Belle was confused.

"No, my dear, I let you think that because it would hurt less than knowing she had left us. Your mother is alive, right here, right before your eyes." Maurice explained.

"So you are my mother. You left Papa and I when I was a little girl. How could you do that Mama? How could you just abandon me and papa without a word or letter all these years? I thought you were dead. I guess it was because I wished you were. If you loved me why would you leave and not stay to help me grow up? Belle felt herself growing angry at this woman's intrusion into her life. Now she remembered the cold winter night her mother left them.

"I….I'm so sorry. I wanted to dance ballet so badly. I felt trapped like a prisoner in that little cottage. I couldn't cook right, Maurice is a much better cook than I am. I had trouble giving birth to you, Belle. I almost died. I feared that if I ever had another child, that time I would die in the birthing process. So Maurice and I were careful. The villagers were not very friendly, they made fun of Maurice's inventions and my sophisticated ideas. I always supported Maurice's inventions, but then they became dangerous.

Machines with blades, fire and smoke, fast wheels, they could have badly hurt you as a toddler, and the horrible noises they made kept you from getting your naps and gave me a headache, no one could rest." Roxanne sobbed.

"So it is my fault because you had such a hard time giving birth to me. And it is my father's fault for making his crazy, loud inventions that gave you a headache. Is that it?" Belle demanded answers from her estranged mother.

"No, dear, it is no one's fault. Please do not try to blame me or anyone. It's just the way things happened. I hoped one day Maurice could have invented something useful and we could sell it and make some money that we needed. But that never happened. I wanted to teach you ballet Belle. Things never worked out the way they should. I got sick of those noisy machines. Maurice was teaching you the alphabet when you were three, I was teaching you the five basic ballet positions. You were so curious and full of energy you got into trouble and I spent most of my time getting you out.

During the terrible winter when you turned four years old, I could think of nothing but leaving. Belle, you got the flu and were so sick I feared you might die at the child's age of four. Maurice found a doctor and all our friends a the village prayed in the little church run by Father Dennis that you would get well. The village did the same for all families, at the church there is a list of people who need prayer. It is at least something good about this little town. The medicine and prayers worked, you got well. As soon as it was warm enough and the snow had melted I packed up my things and left town with the doctor, who had a rich elderly patient in Paris he needed to see. After that, the wheels of fate began to turn and I did become a ballet dancer, and learn much more than what my mother taught me in my childhood, so good at it that I became the prima ballerina of Paris, the best ballerina in France."

"If you want to know how I got there, the ladder I had to climb, dirty deeds I had to do and people I had to trample to get to the top, well, that's another story." Roxanne finished explaining.

Armand sat beside his bride feeling very uncomfortable hearing all this. It was none of his business, but then again maybe it was. He was now Belle's husband, and that would make Roxanne his mother-in-law. He hoped Belle would do the right thing, forgive and accept Roxanne into the family. He began to think of his own parents, though he had long ago tried to put that horrible memory out of his mind.

The fact that he had almost been skewered on the spears of his fathers own guards, the look of horror on the prince and princess' faces when they saw their son changed into a hideous beast, who did his best to hide from them in the dark shadows of the abandoned castle. His father's guards wanted to 'kill the monster' who they thought had invaded the castle and ate Prince Armand. Then his father, Prince Louis, saw the royal insignia ring on his finger and realized there was something strange about the situation. He stopped his guards. Armand told him what happened.

When Armand was sixteen, his father and mother, Prince Louis of Monte-Carlisogne and his wife Princess Anne Marie were called away from their warm comfortable castle in winter to attend their cousin the king of France on important matters of state. They left Prince Armand, a teenager, in charge of the castle.

Armand was still immature, and he wanted to have fun. He decided to have a party while his parents were gone. First he explored the castle. Mrs. Pots the housekeeper told his stories about the castle when he was a little boy. Hidden in the library was a rosewood box with a silver-framed hand mirror in it and a little silver bell. It was said that if one looked into the mirror and rang the little bell at the same time, the fairies in the nearby forest would come to the castle to test you and tell you what your heart truly looked like. Mrs. Pots and the other servants warned Armand never to do this, those powerful fey spirits living in the forest were dangerous and not to be messed with. They kept the box hidden from him, but now that his parents were gone, he ordered the servants to cook a feast, with a large cake for dessert, and to open some of the best bottles of wine in the cellar.

Then Armand snuck into the library and searched until he found that box with the mirror and bell. By candlelight he looked into the mirror and saw his handsome face, then held up the silver bell in his left hand and rang it. "Where are you fairies? Come and tell me what a handsome devil I am fairies. Dance at the party and get drunk with me tonight fairies." He said laughing.

Armand's aristocratic friends lived to far away for them to come to the 'party' at a moments notice, so all he had to entertain were the servants. Cogsworth tried to stop him from making such a mess, and so did Lumierre, but after a few glasses of wine they were less reluctant and began to like the idea of a feast, drinking, music and dancing.

Just before dessert there came a pounding at the front door. Lumierre went to see who it was, it was an old beggar woman wrapped in rags begging for shelter from the cold. She held up a beautiful pink rose in full bloom, offering it as payment for shelter.

Armand hated to be disturbed just then and said, "Send her away!"

Mrs. Pots said, "But master, the poor old thing will freeze to death in the cold. I wonder where she got the lovely rose from. Please have pity master."

"I don't want to be disturbed right now, I was just about to cut the cake. Tell her to go away."

"My Lord, please, appearances deceive, I am not as insignificant as I seem, and this rose is worth more than all of the gold in your treasury." The old woman said.

"How dare you, you old crow!" Armand got angry, he grabbed an iron poker from the fireplace and attempted to chase the old beggar out with the fire poker.

Then, something amazing happened. A brilliant white light burst from the beggar woman, her rags fell down and their before him stood a majestic fairy, as tall as a regal human woman with shining gossamer dragonfly wings, long golden hair braided and looped into an elaborate hairdo with a crown of stars over her brow, wearing a gold and silver robe to match the sun and moon in it's brilliance.

Armand gasped, dropped the poker and backed away from the magnificent fairy. He was in trouble for sure now. He fell down, tripping over his chair. He turned pale, his eyes wide with shock, disbelief, and fear.

"I have seen there is no love in your heart. You may love your family and friends, but for others, for the rest of humanity, you do not care, you care only for yourself, you love only those who love you back. Since you do not love your fellow human beings, you shall no longer be human." The fairy said these words of condemnation then raised her slender hand and Armand felt himself changing. He grew hairier, his hands and feet grew claws, he grew larger, he grew tusks, he turned into a beast!

"As for your castle and your servants, I put this spell on them. The castle shall be changes, your servants shall be changed into living furniture and dishes. I give you this rose so that one day the spell may be broken, if you find someone who loves you as you are and you return that love with all your heart."

A sound like thunder filled the castle, and it began to shake, then another burst of bright white light filled the room, and when it cleared the fairy was gone. Armand was now a furry beast and the servants were furniture. The pink rose lay on the ground.

Armand looked at his paws, he was horrified. He screamed and howled. After calming down he took the rose and put it under a glass bell jar in his private room.

A week later his parents came home, to discover the castle changed and dark, everything a mess, their servants turned into animated furniture and their son into a beast. The guards with them at first wanted attack the beast, but Prince Louis suspected something strangely familiar about the beast, and thankfully Armand was able to tell his father what happened. Prince Louis left the enchanted castle and went back to the king's court in Paris. Princess Anne Marie was so overcome with shock from what happened to her son that she died and was buried in the castle garden. Prince Louis was very angry with Armand, and vowed never to return to Monte-Carlisogne.

Armand shuddered at the memory. That was the hardest, worse part of being the beast was when he had to face his parents in the shame of what his carelessness and cruel selfishness had done. He who had once been so handsome was now reduced to an animal, a hideous beast. No one could love him this way, not even his own father and mother who gave him life, his father had been so shocked because he didn't believe in magic, and when his father said he hated him and wanted nothing more to do with him, it really hurt. He wondered if his father would want to see him now that he was human. But was it too late? Even if he could find him, could he forgive the pain he caused?

Armand stopped thinking about his own paternal problem and looked at Belle. He took her hand and held it in his own.

Belle said to Roxanne, her long-lost mother, "I forgive you, because I know it is the right thing to do. I always wanted a mother in my life, now I have one. I forgive you because you are genuinely sorry for leaving me and Papa, and I understand how you must have felt. Father Dennis tells us the Bible says we should forgive people who hurt us if we want God to forgive us of our sins. I have read the Bible myself and I know it is true. I have missed you all these years. Mother, meet my husband Armand. There is an interesting story as to how we met. He used to be a beast. Perhaps you would like to hear the story over some wedding cake and champagne or wine. "

"Yes I would like that very much." Roxanne said, smiling at her daughter. The family sat down together and Belle told the story of how she broke the enchantment on Armand that held him in the form of a beast as Roxanne ate a slice of wedding cake and sipped champagne.


	5. Chapter 5: Secret of the forest

The Beautiful Beasts

As Belle prepared for her wedding, another family was also preparing for the special occasion deep in the middle of the forest. By a stream a male and female wolf with a young male cub shared a meal of deer. The gray male wolf had caught the doe, and he ate it with his mate along with drinking the fresh water from the stream. The little cub was too young too eat the meat. He lay in the spring grass and pawed at insects and wild flowers until his mother had finished her food and washed off the blood in the stream, then she was ready to nurse him.

A fourth wolf came out of the brush , a female with reddish-brown patches on her fur carrying a large leather sack around her neck. She approached the other wolves, sat down and shrugged the sack off her neck. Then she began to change, the reddish brown fur shedding, turning into the long auburn hair of a human woman as the wolf revealed human flesh and showed that she was no natural wolf but a shape-shifting werewolf.

The other werewolves changed into the human forms. The wolf mother picked up the little wolf cub and held him to her breast so that he could change into a human baby. She had been a wolf with gray and black fur, she changed into a tall woman with deeply tanned skin and long, curly black hair. The gray wolf had turned into a burly, muscular man with graying black hair and beard.

"Vaughn, Are you sure about going to the prince's wedding? The villagers will be suspicious."

"Practically the whole town is going to the wedding, we could be just a few more peasants showing up for free food and booze." the male werewolf said. "Everybody will be occupied with the prince and his bride's romantic celebration and they won't notice anything strange about us."

"Let's get ready." Said the black haired woman, the mother of the baby werewolf. Her name was Regina. "I could use a drink and some real food that I don't have to catch and kill and rip apart, food without blood in it. We could all have some fun outside of the forest, Silvia."

Vaughn started a fire, and then bathed in the stream to get off the wolf smell and forest dirt. Inside the sack was clothing, shoes and blankets to wrap the baby in.

Regina put on a turquoise velvet dress laced up in front with a silver cord trimmed in silver braid embroidered into Celtic knots. The sleeves were three-quarter length. She added a silver and moonstone pendant. Silvia helped her comb her long silky thick black hair and braid it in two braids. She held the ends of the braids with silver clasps set in moonstones. To complete the look she wore a silver tiara with a moonstone set in a Celtic knot. Her shoes were silver satin slippers decorated with moonstones and turquoise beads.

Silvia dressed herself in a peach chiffon dress with short sleeves and mauve lace and beads. She pulled her curly dark auburn hair back in a ponytail tied with a mauve ribbon. She wore a necklace of rose quartz and amethyst beads. On her head she put a circlet of rose quartz and amethyst.

Vaughn wore a russet jacket over his white shirt and black pants, black boots.

Regina wrapped a linen rag around her baby boy, Rolf, as a diaper. Then she bundled him up in blanket when he was in his human form. She gathered up her things in an embroidered blue-gray velvet purse.

The werewolves had wealth hidden all around the forest, clothes, jewelry, supplies, hidden in caves or tree hollows or buried in places only they knew. The great forest was enchanted, there were magical creatures hidden in it, the fairy had a secret residence in the forest that was hard to find, and there were other magical creatures, there was a pond with magic stones around it where you could see visions of other worlds, and if you knew the right words you could travel to those other worlds by jumping into the pond. So the were wolves kept their clothes and other human supplies hidden, they could roam the forest as wolves or travel the roads and go to villages and towns as people if they were careful to act normal and not give themselves away. One thing they never did, they never went to big cities. The crowding and smell of too many humans at once would overwhelm and frighten their wolf half too much, too many people, dogs, horses, cats, rats, other animals, the loud noise, confusion, stench, business, it would scare a wolf and drive it mad.

There are a lot of negative misconceptions about wolves. Wolves are not evil and vicious. They are shy and timid. They usually go after the easy kill, the weak, sick, wounded, or disabled. The are hunters, carnivores, they must eat meat to survive. Modern day dogs are the descendants of wolves. Would you get mad at your dog for eating meat? Humans eat meat themselves.

Werewolves come from an unjust union. The first Adam had a daughter named Lily who was corrupted into the evil witch Lilith and forced to marry Loki the son of Satan. They had Fenris, the giant wolf, as well as other monstrous offspring, and Fenris forced himself upon the fallen angel Artemis, who was wild and loved to hunt, she had participated in Lucifer's rebellion and fell from God's grace but did not want to take orders from Lucifer/Satan. She called herself the goddess Diana but like other fallen angels, rebellious evil dark angels of Satan called themselves gods, but there is only one God and he is all powerful. Artemis has many nymphs, other female fallen angels or demons that follow her, and sometimes they are ale to travel to the moon. There are some moon fairies that are blessed by God, but these moon maidens of Diana mostly follow their goddess. Fenris is ferocious, and he acquired followers that are fierce warriors. His human followers took to wearing wolf skins into battle, and keeping wolves as pets. Unlike other people, they did not hate, fear and despise wolves and try to kill them. They learned to hunt like wolves. When Fenris became too dangerous, Odin, a fallen angel and sorcerer decided he needed to be restrained and imprisoned. So Odin tricked Fenris, and had him bound with what looked like a delicate silk ribbon, but was really a magical chain stronger than thick iron. Fenris was bound and locked up in a cave till the end of the world. But he had many children, who had grandchildren. The werewolves were lose in the world. Odin had no right to judge Fenris, he had two wolves for servants and guards himself, that acted as spies for him. Odin was one of the first human beings created by God along with the first Adam and Eve, he had never tasted the forbidden fruit, but he had tasted mead and wine with innocent blood in it.

Not all werewolves are evil vicious bloodthirsty killers. It is hard to control changing into a wolf the first time, that does not mean you must take a chunk out of the first person you see. The moon effects werewolves because it is the perfect time for wolves to go out hunting while there is enough light to see by in a full moon. The sorceress Artemis/Diana uses moonlight in her magic, these days she mostly lives in her mansion on the moon, and the moon's

light is magical.

As for silver, silver only hurts evil werewolves, a sharp silver piercing a vital organ will kill them, but they can wear silver jewelry, eat with silver forks, touch silver, it does not harm an ordinary werewolf.

"How lucky I am to be in the company of the two most beautiful women of the clan, the wolf queen and her little sister, a fitting princess." Vaughn said.

"Flattery will get you anywhere." Regina replied.

"Where's the rest of the clan?" Silvia asked

"They didn't want to come." Vaughn said. "The rift was difficult. I knew Adolf had gone bad and was losing it for a while, he's always been jealous of Ulric, and he was leading the others in the clan astray. They wanted to be like 'real' werewolves and terrorize people, Ulric I and the others said it was not right and not like descent werewolves. Then Adolf challenged Ulric and wanted to take over. Adolf wanted to get control of the beast prince, and get the beast to make and alliance with us to go raiding travelers, possibly even raid the village and use his castle as head quarters. What a crazy idea! We had to stop him, and whoever in the pack that followed him."

"I remember how terrible it was, Vaughn." Silvia said. "I saw that poor girl struggling in the snow. I was hiding behind the trees and wanted to do something, but I would be just another wolf. Then the beast came and rescued her. He was so brave and strong."

"I was with you. I chased Adolf's followers and saw the beast make short work of them. After he left I made sure Adolf was dead, but I couldn't stop him from killing Ulric. They were both my brothers…" Emotion chocked up Vaughn's voice as he remembers the night of the fight that broke up the werewolf clan.

"I had to fight off Adolf myself." Said Regina. "He tried to hurt my baby Rolf. Ulric defended me, but he was tricked. Ulric had mercy on his brother, and Adolf took advantage of that and murdered him by deceit. Now I am a widow and must raise my infant son by myself. I should be wearing black."

"You wouldn't look good in black, sis." Silvia told her. "We'll help you out as much as we can. Vaughn and I can help you with Rolf. I'll do my best to be a good aunt to the cute little pup."

They reached the road that lead to the castle, no longer covered with snow. The group of two women, one man and a baby, secretly were wolves, reached the castle's open gates where everyone had come for the wedding.

"We're here! Now let's get some booze and grub." Vaughn said as they crept into the crowd at the party in the garden.


	6. Chapter 6: Honeymoon in Paris

The Beautiful Beasts

Chapter 6

The werewolf family thoroughly enjoyed themselves with the wedding feast. They found just enough champagne, food and cake for them, and danced with each other, enjoyed seeing the beautiful garden. They went home to the forest before it got too late.

Belle graciously offered her mother the hospitality of the castle, Roxanne could stay in one of the guest rooms since the inn was rather crowded. Armand had no objections.

Belle went to see her mother before going to bed. Roxanne asked if she had opened her wedding gift that she had given her yet.

"No, Roxanne, err, I mean mother," Belle stuttered.

"That's alright. I suppose I don't deserve to be called mother anymore after I deserted you and your father. I'm sure you haven't had time to open your wedding presents. Of course you will want to spend tonight with Armand. I was just hoping you might want to see my gift." Roxanne, in a white and blue flannel nightgown, showed her a box wrapped up in gold paper with a large silver ribbon and fancy bow.

"Well, I am curious." Belle took the present and unwrapped it. Inside was a square dark wood jewelry box with roses in the four colors of red, white, yellow and pink painted on the lid. The same rose design was painted along the sides.

"Open the lid." Roxanne urged her. Belle did so, and found a leather bound book inside. She opened the book and found it was a blank journal.

"I have heard you like to read a lot. I thought you might want to do some writing for a change. You could write down your thoughts and daily events. You could make up poems or stories of your own, which ever one you want to try. Good luck."

"Thank you, mother. I can't wait to try writing my own stories. This is a wonderful wedding present." Belle hugged her. "Bonsoir. Now I really must see my new husband Armand."

Belle entered the bedroom still wearing her wedding dress. Armand was there and he put his arms around her and kissed her. "Let's take off that puffy dress and see your true beauty." he said. He unlaced her dress while she kicked off her shoes and took off her bridal veil. Armand had his coat off, his boots off and he took off his shirt. He also took off his pants and they struggled for a while to get Belle's dress, her petticoats and underwear off. When they were both naked they lay on the bed kissing and caressing each other. They made love for most of the night and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Belle woke up in the morning with her head on Armand's shoulder. She blinked at the bright sunlight filtering between the closed curtains. How long had she slept? She slowly raised her head and looked around. She shivered with cold. She was completely naked on top of the covers with Armand curled up beside her, his arm around her and their legs entwined rubbing up against each other. Belle heard his snores. She brushed a strand of his amber hair back out of his face behind his ear. Armand snorted. Would he wake up? Should she wake him up? Belle kissed him on the nose.

"Achoo!" Armand woke up with a sneeze. "Mmmm, I'm a sexy beast, and so are you… Oh is it morning, Belle?"

Belle giggled. "Oui, oui, you sexy thing, it's morning all right."

"I'd kiss you if it weren't for morning breath." Armand said.

"I'd take that kiss too." Belle flirted. They kissed, despite morning breath. "That wasn't so bad; as a matter of fact I liked it. Said Armand.

"Let's get dressed and go eat breakfast." Belle suggested.

"All right, I'm hungry too."

Belle put on a bathrobe and left Armand's bedroom and went into her room. She rang the bell for Sophie, former wardrobe when the castle was enchanted, now her lady's maid and also a seamstress. Sophie was the one who helped her get dressed. Belle opened the normal wardrobe and went through it, looking at all the beautiful dresses. She settled on a lavender muslin dress with short sleeves and artificial lilac flowers and lace adorning it. She wore white gloves, lavender slippers and a hairpiece of lilac flowers in her hair along with the dress.

Armand decided to wear a mauve jacket over his white shirt, with a mauve vest and bluish gray pants.

They went to the dining room for breakfast arm in arm. Mrs. Potts was pouring cups of breakfast tea at the places at the table. Roxanne and Maurice were at the table. Maurice was busy with his latest invention, a machine for making coffee. Roxanne wore a cobalt blue dress and sipped tea from her cup.

"Now, er, let's see…." Maurice said. "You put the coffee beans in here, and then you pour the water in here for it to get hot…." Maurice mumbled to himself as he tried to handle his coffee making machine. Armand and Belle sat down at the table. The chef came out of the kitchen with trays of food.

"Bonjour, Messieurs, Mesdames, and Mesdemoiselles! I have cooked a delicious breakfast for you all. I have made what is called French toast for breakfast.

"I like French toast, keep up the good work, Henri." said Armand.

"Thank you for feeding us so well, Henri." Belle said.

"Yummy! French toast! I want to put lots of maple syrup on it!" Chip said with glee.

Everyone had a good breakfast of delicious French toast. The servants washed the dishes afterward.

Armand and Belle planned to go on their honeymoon soon. So after breakfast they went to their bedrooms and started to pack. Mrs. Potts, Sophie and Babette helped Belle pack her clothes and everything else she would need on the journey. Lumierre and Cogsworth plus the royal barber helped Prince Armand to pack his things. The newly wed royal couple took a stroll through the gardens while waiting for the carriage.

"The pear trees are really blooming with pretty little white flowers this spring. Their fragrance is heavenly." said Armand.

"Yes they are lovely. But I like the spring roses and lilies the best. I see there are some lilacs in bloom. They are so beautiful. Sophie was inspired by the first lilacs of spring when she sewed this dress for me."

"You look radiant in it. A perfect spring princess."

"But Armand, I'm not a princess," Belle started.

"You are now that you married me, a prince." He replied.

"Oh, I never thought of that." Belle said. "So now I am a princess married to a prince. How stunningly splendid is that! Why I could write a book out of our story. But that would interfere with our privacy."

"I'm sure others would be interested in our story, how the beautiful girl from the little country village tamed the beast living in the enchanted castle and broke the spell that held him as a beast with her kindness and caring she brought the man out of the beast." Armand held her hand and they walked to the front of the castle.

"Look the carriage has arrived. Time to leave for our honeymoon." Belle and Armand put their luggage on top of the carriage, except for Belle's handbag and umbrella, and Armand's wallet that they kept with them. Armand also hid a dagger and sword under his jacket in case they should need to protect themselves. They were going to Paris for a few days, and then south to the beach, to Spain and Italy.

Belle and Armand laughed and talked while in their carriage.

"How many children do you want?" Belle asked him.

"Children? What? Wait a minute who said anything about children? Do we have to have children? I don't know if I would make a good father."

"You could be a good father, Armand. It takes confidence, gentleness, compassion, discipline, determination and tough love. I had to learn all that when I made some extra spending money baby sitting the villager's children. But then Gaston, Lefou, and the three blondes from the tavern began to spread rumors about me being strange, and the village mothers were reluctant to hire me for baby sitting anymore."

"So don't let what other people say about you bother, you?" He said.

"Yes, that's it." Belle replied.

Armand looked out the window. "It's Paris! We're there!"

"Oh good! So many buildings crowded into one place!" Belle exclaimed. The carriage stopped at the inn Armand and Belle were staying at. They got off the carriage and went down town to explore the city of Paris. Belle and Armand saw an art museum and decided to see the great masterpieces of art in the Paris museum. Some of what was called 'art' looked like trash to them, while other paintings and sculptures they found breathtakingly beautiful. There were portraits of royalty and other famous people, scenes from the Bible and other religious figures portrayed, scenes from mythology, legends, folktales and fairytales, scenes from history such as famous battles, natural landscapes of beautiful places in nature, such as mountains or meadows or forests or gardens, still lives of flowers or fruit, and pictures of handsome attractive animals. Some of the art was very old, from ancient times, while others were done by recent famous artists.

Belle and Armand enjoyed seeing the beautiful works of art at the museum.

Belle spied a large book store down the street from the museum. This bookstore also had a little café with it; apparently it was a popular hang-out for students and the high brow readers in society who loved a good book and wanted to hear the latest news over a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

A bell rang from the door as Armand and Belle stepped inside.

"Bonjour, welcome to Monsieur Sage' book shop. I am Monsieur Algeron Sage. How may I help you? " A tall thin man behind a counter covered in books said to them. In the center of the counter he had sheets of paper, an ink well and quill pens. He also had a box to hold money. A short plump woman in a yellow dress with black hair in a bun stopped by the counter to talk to the store's owner.

"I'm so glad you have the latest book in Sarah Whitling's Rambling Roses series." the woman said. "I've looked everywhere and could only find it here. Her books are so romantic and exciting, best romantic novels I've ever read. I'm surprised an Englishwoman can write so well. She puts our French writers to shame." The woman in yellow paid for her book at left the store.

Belle saw some of the romance novels by Sarah Whitling on display. She picked one up and read the preview on the back cover. In the first book, Ruby Rose, a pretty young princess who loves nature, Princess Ruby Rose, falls in love with the handsome young castle gardener who grows the most beautiful flowers for her. But her father the king has betrothed her to a middle aged, fat, pompous arrogant rude chauvinistic king who knows nothing about the needs of young women. Ruby Rose runs away with the gardener and goes on a danger-filled journey to a distant kingdom where they can be free to marry and live happily ever after.

"This book sounds like a fascinating love story and adventure. I wonder if the princess' father will ever approve of her love for the gardener."

"An excellent choice." the tall thin bookstore owner with spectacles and thinning black hair with streaks of gray and white said. He was dressed in a teal waistcoat.

"Many of our lady customers enjoyed this series of novels. I'm certain you will want to buy the sequels after you have read the first book. Sarah Whitling is becoming quite popular. I heard she is in France and may be visiting Paris in a few days, of course she has my invitation to sign books at this store."

"The novelist her self will be here? Oh How exciting! I hope we get to meet her! Armand, we should stay in Paris and meet Sarah Whitling."

Armand sighed. "I will do it for you; we can remain in Paris as long as it takes."

"Now for this book, we have needed something new in the castle library. I'll take the first and second novels, Ruby Rose and Thorn Upon the Rose." Belle took some coins from her purse and paid for her books. Algeron Sage gave her the books in a paper bag.

They ate lunch at the café, broccoli and cheese soup with fresh baguettes, mint tea and little chocolate tea cakes.

Armand and Belle decided to go see some entertainment. They went to where the theaters, opera and ballet houses of Paris were.

Belle told her new husband that she would like to see the ballet.

Belle had never seen a ballet show. She had always wanted to.

Armand said that they could go to the ballet one night, and then go to the opera the next night. The woman in the ticket booth smiled and told them about the different ballet shows that were playing at that time. Belle had to choose between her two favorites, "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake." Finally she decided to see Swan Lake.


	7. Chapter 7: Continued Honeymoon

The Beautiful Beasts

Chapter 7

Armand and Belle woke up around nine o' clock the next morning. Lumiere and Sophie helped them get bathed and dressed. They had breakfast at the inn's restaurant. They had omelets for breakfast. Armand and Belle walked through downtown Paris; they took a stroll through the parks and gardens of Paris. They visited Notre Dame Cathedral and donated some money to the church, and they prayed and confessed their sins in private to a priest. Belle admired the beautiful gothic arches, statues and stain glass windows in the elaborate gothic cathedral with magnificent art and architecture.

"It is a gorgeous monument to the Lord, don't you think?" Armand said to Belle.

"Yes, it is quite beautiful. The priests could have used the money to help the poor. Then again, the building of the cathedral must have provided jobs for craftsmen and construction workers." Belle said.

"I've heard stories about a hunchback bell ringer who helped the gypsies from persecution by an unjust corrupt judge. The story is a lot like our own. It would be interesting to meet them." Armand said.

"Now that would be an exciting story I'd like to hear." Belle said. She took Armand's hand. "Listen to the bells." They heard the sounds of the bells of Notre dame ringing loud and clear.

"I would like to meet the bell ringer, but visitors are not allowed upstairs." Belle said.

They left Notre dame Cathedral and saw a puppet show put on by Clotho the king of the gypsies. The puppet show told the story of Quasimodo the hunchback bell ringer of Notre Dame that was once the servant of the corrupt, wicked cruel self-righteous judge Frollo. Frollo hated gypsies and wanted to destroy all the gypsies in Paris. His servant Quasimodo became friends with the gypsies and eventually helped to defeat and kill Frollo, and now the people were happy that he was gone.

Belle and Armand came to a tailor shop and Armand had some new clothes made for him. The tailor took his measurements and Armand picked out the pattern, design and color and type of cloth he wanted his clothes in. Then Belle went to a dressmaker shop and the seamstress took her measurements to make some new dresses for Belle. Belle chose some peach silk and pink satin. She chose sea green cotton, blue linen and red velvet dresses.

Next on their shopping trip they went to the hat shop and Belle bought a red velvet hat with roses and red feathers, a peach had with peach flowers, bows and veils, and a blue bonnet with a wide blue satin ribbon. She also bought some shoes to match her dress.

To make the trip really special Armand took Belle to a fine Parisian jeweler. He bought her a necklace of rubies forming roses with emerald leaves set in gold. The rose necklace came with a ruby rose brooch, rose earrings, and a rose hair comb. He also bought her some rose quartz jewelry and golden topaz jewelry sets.

At the end of the day Armand and Belle came across a friendly tavern to have dinner at. This lively tavern was frequented by gypsies, guards, entertainers, students, priests, artists, common laborers, servants, knights, and musicians.


End file.
